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Football

No. 10 Miami Faces No. 1 Indiana in 2026 CFP National Championship

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – No. 10 Miami, the final team to punch its ticket to the 12-team College Football Playoff, will take on top-seeded No. 1 Indiana in the 2026 College Football Playoff National Championship Game presented by AT&T on Monday, January 19, at 7:30 p.m. ET at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
 
Powered by Miami’s 3-0 mark in the College Football Playoff, the ACC is 9-4 in postseason play thus far, highlighted by a 7-2 record versus fellow Power 4 conference opponents.
 
College Football Playoff National Championship
#10 Miami vs. #1 Indiana | 7:30 p.m. ET
Series: Series tied at 1-1-0
Last Meeting: Miami, 14-7 (1966)
TV: ESPN
SiriusXM Radio: SiriusXM 80 / SiriusXM 81 / SiriusXM 84
SiriusXM App: SiriusXM 80 / SiriusXM 81 / SiriusXM 84
 
No. 10 Miami and No. 1 Indiana will play for the College Football Playoff National Championship on Monday at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. Both programs have been among the nation’s most successful over the past two seasons, with Indiana posting a .920 winning percentage (23-2) and Miami a .821 mark (23-5).
 
The all-time series between the two programs is tied 1-1, with the teams not having faced each other since the 1960s.
 
Miami enters the national championship riding a seven-game winning streak following an overtime road loss at SMU on November 1, 2025. The Hurricanes reached the semifinals with dominant performances, holding No. 7 Texas A&M to just 10 points in the first round and No. 2 Ohio State to 14 points in the quarterfinals of the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, before edging No. 6 Ole Miss 31-27 in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl semifinal.
 
Miami has seven wins over AP Top 25 foes, most by any ACC team in a season all-time, with the chance for an eighth with a win over No. 1 Indiana. The only teams to have more in a single season are Alabama (9 in 2016, 8 in 2015) and LSU (8 in 2011).
 
Miami’s defense, which has recorded 47 sacks and 16 interceptions, ranks among the nation’s elite in nearly every statistical category, including scoring defense, rushing defense, takeaways, defensive touchdowns and red-zone defense. The Hurricanes’ offense has also been efficient and balanced, ranking in the top 30 nationally in completion percentage, first downs, time of possession, scoring, passing efficiency, and third- and fourth-down conversions.
 
Notably, Miami became only the third school in the past 30 seasons, joining Clemson (2016 and 2018) and Georgia Tech (2016), to record three wins over SEC programs in the same year, defeating Florida, Texas A&M and Ole Miss.
 
Indiana, the lone undefeated team in FBS at 15-0, has dominated under head coach Curt Cignetti, posting a 23-2 record over the past two seasons. The Hoosiers boast the largest average scoring margin in college football this season at +28.6 points per game and advanced to the national championship with decisive wins over No. 9 Alabama (38-3) in the quarterfinals and No. 5 Oregon (56-22) in the semifinals.
 
Indiana’s defense has forced multiple turnovers in 10 games this season, and the team has recorded 12 wins by double digits. The Hoosiers’ offense ranks among the top 25 nationally in nearly every key category, including scoring, completion percentage, passing efficiency, first downs, third-down conversions and red-zone efficiency, while their defense is similarly elite, ranking top 10 nationally in scoring defense, sacks, tackles-for-loss, takeaways and turnover margin.
 

Noting ACC Football
 
ACC Lands Three Teams in CFP Top 25
  • The ACC had three teams ranked in the final College Football Playoff rankings (December 7): Miami (No. 10), Virginia (No. 19) and Georgia Tech (No. 22).
  • Miami was selected to the 2025 College Football Playoff, receiving an at-large bid to secure the team’s first-ever trip to the CFP.
    • Miami is the fifth different ACC team to make the College Football Playoff (Clemson, Florida State, Miami, SMU and Notre Dame, who played as a full-time member of the ACC in 2020).
 
Postseason Success in 2025
  • The ACC has posted 9 wins in the postseason this year, the second-most among all conferences.
    • Big Ten – 10; ACC – 9; American – 5; Big 12 – 4; CUSA – 4; SEC – 4; Sun Belt – 4; MAC – 2; MW – 2; Pac 12 – 1.
    • The 9 wins are the most postseason victories in a single year for the ACC since 9 wins in 2016.
  • The ACC is in contention to win the 2025-26 Bowl Challenge Cup, which is awarded annually by ESPN to the FBS conference with the highest postseason bowl winning percentage.
    • ACC’s postseason winning percentage entering the National Championship Game is .692 (9-4), which leads all the other conferences.
    • Big Ten (.667); CUSA (.571); American (.555); Big 12 (.500); Sun Belt (.400); MAC (.400); Mountain West (.286); SEC (.286).
  • The ACC has recorded 7 wins this postseason versus its peer Power 4 conferences, the most of all Power 4 conferences.
    • ACC – 7-2; Big Ten – 5-4; Big 12 – 4-3; SEC – 1-8 (does not include intraconference matchups).
  • The ACC was 4-0 versus the SEC in postseason play.
  • Excluding 2020, the ACC has had multiple teams win a bowl game in every season since 2001. The only other FBS conference to do that in the same time frame is the SEC.
 
Eleven ACC Teams in the Postseason
  • The ACC had 11 different teams participate in a bowl game or the CFP Playoffs for the third consecutive season. That is the longest streak by any FBS conference all-time.
  • This marks the eighth time since 2014-15 that the league has reached double-digit bowl-eligible teams.
  • The 11 bowl teams are the second-most among all conferences: Big Ten – 12; ACC – 11; SEC – 10; Big 12 – 10; Sun Belt – 9; American – 8; Mountain West – 7; CUSA – 7; MAC – 5. 
 
 ACC is the Deepest Power 4 Conference
  • The ACC proved it was the deepest Power 4 conference this season:
    • 9 teams with 8 or more overall wins on the year, tied for the most in all of FBS and the most in a single season in ACC history.
    • 7 teams with 9 or more overall wins on the season, the most in a single season in ACC history.
    • 7 conference games have gone into overtime, the most by any conference since 2000.
      • The ACC Championship Game was decided in overtime for the first time in the 21-year history of the title game.
    • In conference play, road teams posted a 35-33 record in the ACC.
  • The ACC had the strongest non-conference strength of schedule among all Power 4 conferences in the regular season:
    • Played 26 non-conference games versus P4 teams and Notre Dame, the most of any conference: ACC - 26; SEC – 18; Big 12 - 14; Big Ten - 12.
  • The ACC has recorded 14 wins versus the other three Power 4 conferences and Notre Dame overall on the season (postseason included), the most among all P4 conferences: ACC – 14; SEC – 13; Big 12 – 12; Big Ten – 12.
  • The ACC has won plenty of high-profile games this year, inclusive of all games (conference and non-conference):     
    • 6 different ACC teams defeated a Top 10 opponent this season.
    • 9 different ACC teams defeated a Top 15 opponent this year.
    • 12 different ACC teams defeated a Top 25 opponent this season. 

ACC and ESPN/ACCN Enhanced Instant Replay Transparency
  • During the 2025 season, the ACC provided fans with real-time access to officiating deliberations in over 25 games across ESPN, ESPN2, and the ACC Network, featuring the first-of-its-kind ACC Enhanced Instant Replay Transparency.
  • Viewers heard live replay discussions among the referee, the in-stadium instant replay official, and the ACC’s Collaborative Instant Replay Official based in the ACC’s Game Day Operations Center in Charlotte.
  • The initiative represented a first-of-its-kind collaboration between the ACC and ESPN, enhancing transparency and modernizing the fan viewing experience.
  • The ACC was the only conference to offer this level of replay audio access during select games in 2024 and the start of the 2025 season, establishing a new standard for transparency in college football officiating.
 
ACC Football Fridays
  • The ACC owned Friday nights during the 2025 regular season, setting a league record with 12 Friday games featuring ACC teams.
  • 12 of the ACC’s 17 football programs appeared in at least one primetime Friday night matchup, underscoring the league’s national presence to open each weekend.
  • ACC Friday night games delivered marquee matchups, ranked opponents, multiple overtime contests, and nationally televised showcase games throughout the season.